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Friday, January 29, 2010

A thousand-year-old temple complex has been excavated near the city of Chiclayo in northwestern Peru, dating back to the pre-Inca Lambayeque (Sicán) civilization, including a tomb with evidence of human sacrifice and torture.

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Scientists have extracted fossilized melanosomes (pigment-bearing organelles) from the feathers and thin "protofeathers" of Sinosauropteryx to establish the first accurate recreations of a dinosaur's natural color.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Normally based on the attractive forces between atoms or molecules, researchers have discovered that the application of x-rays to a solution of peptide nanofibers forced a repulsive electrostatic force that drove the formation of a crystalline structure that disappears when the x-rays are turned off.

Monday, January 25, 2010

A strange surface rock examined by NASA's Mars rover Opportunity is believed to have formed deep within the crust, possibly ejected from a nearby crater upon impact, and may reveal information about the composition of the planet's interior.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

The exotic symmetry known as E8, suggested by string theory, has been observed experimentally for the first time in the patterns formed by the magnetic spins in crystals of cobalt niobate cooled to near absolute zero and placed in a strong magnetic field.

Monday, January 18, 2010

Using specialized holograms to create and manipulate optical vortices, physicists were able to literally tie knots in beams of light using the science of knot theory, an abstract mathematics specialty that previously had no physical application.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

New analysis of pigment-stained and perforated seashells has led to new insight into the mind of Neanderthal man, providing evidence of cosmetics and body ornamentation—and therefore symbolic thinking that was previously believed beyond the capabilities of Neanderthals.

Sunday, January 10, 2010

The recent discovery of the Fourth Dynasty tombs of workers who built the Egyptian pyramids reveals that they were not slave labor but a highly skilled, well-fed and paid workforce that was honored by their burial within the shadow of the sacred pyramids.

Saturday, January 9, 2010

A new study reveals that as much as 8% of the human genome contains DNA derived from bornaviruses, RNA viruses whose replication and transcription takes place in the cell nucleus, through a process known as endogenization.

Friday, January 8, 2010

Medical researchers have developed a process for turning rattan wood into biocompatible bone substitute, with the final product mirroring natural bone's structure and porous properties so much that they will fuse together in a permanent bond.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

The mathematical value of the constant pi has been calculated to almost 2.7 trillion decimal places, a leap of some 123 billion digits more than the previous record, using a desktop computer and an algorithm that is 20 times more efficient.

Monday, January 4, 2010

NASA's Kepler Telescope has discovered two objects orbiting two different stars that are too hot to be planets, even thousands of degrees hotter than the stars they orbit, and do not fit the definition of any known astronomical object.